The Berlin Airlift Memorial Explained

Added: 2026-05-16

[00:00:00]Many visitors to Berlin walk past this strange 20  m tall concrete monument without realizing what it represents. This is the Berlin Airlift Memorial  located at Plat DeFor near the entrance to the former Templehof airport. It was inaugurated in  1951 and commemorates the massive Allied airlift of 1948 and 1949 when West Berlin was cut off  by the Soviet blockade and had to be supplied entirely by air. Over 15 months, Allied aircraft  made more than 270,000 flights bringing food, coal, medicine, and other critical supplies into  West Berlin. The shape is symbolic. It abstractly depicts the beginnings of a bridge arch from which  three ribs protrude westwardly. Luka translates to airbridge, which the Germans called the airlift.  The three concrete claws represent the three air corridors that kept West Berlin alive. These  routes connected three airports in Frankfurt, Hanover, and Hamburg to Berlin's three airlift  airports, Templehof, Gatau, and Teel. Around the base are the names of the people who paid the  ultimate price during the airlift, mostly airmen, 39 British, 33 Americans along with at least  five German workers. And this memorial has matching counterparts in Frankfurt and Cellah.  and along Temple Hall form. Several Lynden trees were planted in 2000 with bronze plaques on the  sidewalk. It's a mustsee, especially if you are planning on visiting Templehof airport. The  memorial can be found under Cold War sites in my free Berlin trip planning app. A link to the  app can be found in my bio, or you can hire me, Steve from Experience Berlin Tourists, to take  you here. And I'll see you in the next video. Sh.